A recent, generous £106,000 grant from The MacRobert Trust has allowed the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, the RAF’s longest-standing charity, to cover the costs of a new RAF Lossiemouth Heritage Centre in Scotland.
The Heritage Centre will be available for serving personnel, veterans and their families and will be central to the community at the RAF station in Moray.
The existing Heritage Centre was in desperate need of modernisation, and being inside the Station fence was also difficult to access for the wider community. The grant from the MacRobert Trust has meant that the Fund has been able to finance the conversion of a historic building just outside the Station boundary which will be accessible to all.
The Heritage Centre is intended to create a facility that not only informs and educates personnel young and old but also offers a safe and welcoming environment for our veteran community. Regular meets will encourage personnel and veterans to engage, reducing any sense of loneliness and isolation that many feel.
Wing Commander Andrea Dowds said:
“RAF Lossiemouth has a rich heritage with connections across Scotland and an interesting history. The MacRobert Trust grant and the RAF Benevolent Fund will enable us to share that with the 5,000 serving personnel and their families based at the Station and, just as importantly, act as a social hub for the 10,000 or so veterans who live in the Moray area, as well as the wider RAF family.
Simon Harper, Director of Operations at the RAF Benevolent Fund said:
“RAF Lossiemouth is one of the RAF’s busiest units, delivering operations at home and overseas. By enhancing communities and building social relationships and connections, the RAF Benevolent Fund is there to ensure everyone in the RAF Family is supported and valued. Delivering community projects such as this is central to that aim, so we are deeply grateful to The MacRobert Trust for enabling us to undertake this project at RAF Lossiemouth.”
The MacRobert Trust’s CEO Gillian Currie said:
“Our new Military Fund is a key part of our 10 Goals for 10 Years, reflecting our commitment to the Armed Forces community and the MacRobert family’s military legacy. It is particularly poignant that its first donation supports RAF Lossiemouth, a place that still holds such a deep connection to the MacRobert legacy. We are delighted to support a project that will benefit serving personnel, veterans and their families.”
